This must be what it feels like to step into a dream.
A few months ago when making room for possibilities took me to a corn field in Nebraska I could hardly believe it. Only a couple of weeks had passed since making the decision to follow my curiosity when my phone rang and I received the invitation to attend a retreat hosted by the amazing folks at Gravity. It was an invitation that was totally unexpected.
On the second night of the retreat I gathered my notebook and some of my favorite books and found a spot in the library. It was quiet, as libraries are known to be, and there was a gentleman there who seemed to be working on something that required all of his attention. It wasn't long before he gathered his papers and got up to leave. He mentioned something to me about the lights as he flipped switches and turned knobs before exiting the room leaving me in a perfectly lit space.
I sat for a few minutes doing nothing, mostly in disbelief that I was even there and eventually I opened my notebook. I rewrote my personal mission and vision my friend, Quiana LaRae, had helped me formulate at the end of 2015 and I wrote a few paragraphs about how the trip was going up to that point and then...I dreamed up this idea about starting a prayer group when I got back to Houston and I wrote that down too. That all took place on September 3, 2016 and on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 the prayer group will become a reality.
I dreamed up something in a library at a Benedictine Retreat Center in Schuyler, Nebraska surrounded by cornfields and this week I'll move forward into that dream rooted in Faith and with the support of a community that has become family here in Houston. I am so excited, amazed and grateful for it all!
Contemplate will be a time of Contemplative Prayer and Bible Study. It is an extension and a compliment to the Awakenings Movement Solace and Serenity gatherings that take place every Sunday. It will be a time to break away from the busyness of our day-to-day lives and "be still and know" (Psalm 46:10). All are welcome to attend either the prayer or the Bible study (or stay for both!) We'll meet on Wednesday nights. (specific details in the end-notes)
All.
Are.
Welcome.
All.
New Year's resolutions have come and most have gone by this time of year and that's OK. The time is always right to move mountains.
Dream bigger. Start today.
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20
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May your days be filled with compassion, your faith remain strong and may growth be your compass.
~Tia
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Need help writing your own mission and vision? Here's what helped me. You can download the eBook Quiana wrote here (it's FREE!) or meet with her...seriously...send her a note and meet her. Q- you're a strategy ninja whose intentions are gold. Don't know what I'd do without you!
Want to know more about the retreat I went on? Check out the Grounding Retreat offered by Gravity. Phileena and Chris your work has deeply impacted my life, as I know it has many others. I am forever grateful.
Want to meet the group of people that are creating space for me and MANY others to live out their dreams? Stop by the Awakenings Movement Studio located at 4118 Fannin St on any Sunday at 10 am or just ask me.
Interested in Contemplate? We'll meet every Wednesday at 7:15 pm for prayer. Bible study will start at 7:35. 4118 Fannin St. And yes, we're on Facebook.
Marlon, Danielle, Shelly and Jack - you have forever changed the trajectory of my life. This is where Fullness is for me. Thank you all.
And to my sister from another mister Rebecca. You knew what I needed even before I did. Thank you for your invitation to the church that was a people and not a building. I love you.